Rajapur

Rajapur is a Konkan port set inland on a creek leading to the Arabian Sea. Pepper and cardamom from the country under Bijapur drew foreign merchants to its market. The English East India Company maintained a trading house here, buying spices alongside cotton goods and saltpetre. French merchants also established a factory at Rajapur in 1670.

The port’s trade was disrupted by the wars of Shivaji. The English at Rajapur became entangled in the conflict after men from their factory assisted the Bijapur forces besieging him at Panhala in 1660. Shivaji subsequently plundered the factory and detained its personnel. Although the English later resumed trade, repeated disputes and demands made the establishment difficult to maintain. Its troubled history shows how closely coastal commerce depended on the changing relations between European merchants and Maratha power.